Anachronisms and Mistletoe
by MrSchimpf
Summary: Paris·Jess. A holiday tradition brings Paris and Jess closer to each other than they ever thought possible. A different take on The Bracebridge Dinner.


**Title: Anachronisms and Mistletoe**   
**Author:** Nate   
**Pairing:** Paris/Jess   
**Spoilers:** A different take on _The Bracebridge Dinner_, Smarties style.   
**Rating:** PG (language and romance)   
**Disclaimer:** If it were up to me, Paris would have most of the screentime on the show while doing some cerebral flirting with Jess, but Amy Sherman-Palladino, Hofflund-Polone and Warner Bros. Television aren't about to give me the power to control Paris and Jess' destinies on the show. Yet. So I'm content doing it in fanfiction for now. Basically, I don't own the characters.   
**Archiving: **LWL, Gilmore-girls.net, and Fanfiction.net, all other sites please ask.   
**Summary:** Paris and Jess think about each other as they sit across the table from each other during the Bracebridge Dinner, then become closer together during a holiday tradition.   
**Author's Notes:** The holidays, along with a scene where Paris and Lorelai get Jess' full attention, are the inspiration for this story, which seriously deviates from the plot of _The Bracebridge Dinner_ after the scene where Paris nitpicks about things she found wrong about an 18th century dinner in 2001. The first few lines of this story are actual show dialogue and plot, the rest is Paris/Jess romance. I also took a little bit of the story from my other Paris/Jess fic, _From the Outside Looking In_ . And nothing happened to the snowman, just in case you wanted to know, I don't even mention it.  
  
(Addendum - This story was written in January 2002 before Jess' last name of Mariano was revealed in a later episode, so when I wrote the fic originally, his full name was Jess Danes, I apoligize for the confusion. As of May 29, 2003, I changed it to reflect his real last name due to a request from a reviewer.The story remains unchanged from it's original form except for the change in surname.)  


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"Hey Paris, how's it going?" Lorelai asked as she came upon Paris' spot at the table, where she was finishing up on her plate. 

"Fine, good, thanks for having me," Paris responded happily to Lorelai, she felt the dinner was well done, and hadn't had food that good in quite a while. 

"Oh, it was our pleasure," Lorelai said, pleased that the usually sulky girl from Hartford was having a good time, thanks to the last minute invitation from Rory for her classmate and competitive equal at Chilton. 

Paris decided to broach a quick conversation topic with Lorelai. "Did you notice the anachronisms?" 

"The what?" the elder Gilmore asked, dumbfounded by what Paris was wondering about. 

"The period discrepancies. They were pretty blatant," the dark blonde stated confidently. "I mean, forget that the nineteenth century didn't include recessed lighting or the Fossil watch that your server was wearing, but water in that period would not have been served with cubed ice." 

"Right," Lorelai said unconsciously. She knew that Paris, being really into studying ways of life in the past at Chilton, would probably say something about the authenticity of the dinner she had helped organize. 

"And your servers are wearing nylon blend shirts, and nylon was invented by a scientist at DuPont in the 1920s, it shattered the illusion." Paris said the sentence so seriously it didn't sound like like she was trying to be funny at all. 

"Floggings will be administered," Lorelai joked, earning a slight guffaw from Paris. 

Jess' attention was suddenly jarred towards the two girls talking across the table from him, that was the first time all night he was physically looking over Paris from across the table. Before however, he had taken a passing interest in eavesdropping on the few conversations she had with the other townies at the table while eating. Paris was sitting next to Miss Patty, who was busy swooning over one of the dinner's cast members across the room all night, something about how the man looked good in the period dress, Jess remembered. 

This table was the last place he had wanted to be at this holiday season, inside he was hurting because his mother hadn't invited him back to Brooklyn to spend the holidays with her, and it had affected him alot, unbeknownst to anyone. Because he had a facade of toughness, he was able to keep it hidden from everyone else, but inside, he felt guilty for causing his mother to send him up to Connecticut. He wished he wouldn't have stolen money from her, because if he hadn't he would still be able to hang out with his buddies back in New York. The holidays had gotten to him, Jess was hoping that at Christmastime, his mother was going to change her mind and have Luke send him back home so he could get a second chance at patching up their uneasy relationship with each other. She hadn't however, and it hurt Jess so much emotionally that his mother thought he was a lost cause now. _I would do anything to get out of this town and out of my family's life_ , he thought silently to himself as he ate dinner. 

The holidays had been very tough on Paris also, this was the first Hanukah since Mr. and Mrs. Gellar divorced that she had celebrated, but there really wasn't much that she was thankful for. Sure, she was bright and at the top of her class, and she enjoyed the perks of being student editor of the _ Franklin_, but besides that, there weren't many people in Paris' life that she could talk to or confide in during the long Chilton winter break. Madeline and Louise were both on skiing vacations in Aspen, probably having fun sitting by the fire in the main lodge with their perfect current boyfriends, and Tristan was at a military school in North Carolina indefinitely because of trouble he had gotten into over the last few months. 

It was her parents though who had caused her the most anguish. The divorced couple had taken separate vacations to exotic locales for the holidays, so most of her time was spent at the Manor alone reading, doing homework, finishing up various winter projects for the charities and service clubs she was involved in, or talking with and playing games with her long time nanny Francisca from Portugal, whom she considered her most trusted friend. 

Francisca had been with the Gellars since Paris was born, and always knew how her charge felt. Francisca had only a minor knowledge of English, but it didn't matter to Paris because she was very fluent in Portuguese since she was seven, and felt a special bond with her nanny. They talked like longtime girlfriends, but it had always been clear to Francisca that Paris needed love, and hoped that someday, one of their Portuguese conversations would revolve around a great guy that Paris met. 

At first, Paris was surprised when Rory invited her to eat dinner with the townspeople when she dropped off _Franklin_ activities at the inn, but then she was thankful to get out of the cavernous confines of her mansion for a while. Francisca was very happy to hear that Paris was going to be social that night when she called on her cell phone, and wished Paris luck in making a few friends while she was in Stars Hollow. Paris hoped for the best, and seemed to become more cheerful as the night went on. As she got to know the residents of the town more, she opened up a little, making small talk with Taylor, Babette and Lorelai as the night started. 

As the night went on though, Paris was starting to feel more out of place with the residents of Stars Hollow, and really couldn't find a good topic to talk to anybody about. Rory was too busy helping the staff of the Independence Inn with helping get people into their hotel rooms and setting the table in the dining room. She wasn't exactly in the mood to be chummy with Dean, he had annoyed her to no end when he had been looking in on the rehearsals during the "Romeo & Juliet" project Paris had done with Rory a few weeks back at Miss Patty's dance studio. He was there to keep Tristan from trying to make his scene with Rory too realistic, and had only inflamed the situation in the room worse than it had been. She remembered back to that night with dread, and tried to keep it out of her mind for the rest of the night. 

But then, Paris happened upon someone who she had seen when she took a walk in Stars Hollow that night when she felt she couldn't take the stress of directing the scene anymore. She had seen him in an alley that night, smoking a cigarette, and taken a liking to him when she stared at him, before she had to go back and direct the scene. Paris wasn't able to talk to him that night because of the play. 

_It's Jess_, she thought silently as he walked into the lobby of the Independence Inn with his uncle. _And he looks so handsome_ , she thought as she looked him up and down as she watched him hang his jean jacket up on a coat rack. Thoughts that Paris would never think usually were coursing through her brain as she watched him walk around the room, looking for nothing in particular to do. _What I would do just to talk to him, get to know him, run my fingers through that wild untamed mane of raven hair as his lips touch mine slowly and deliberately, while I feel his hand on the small of my back..._

Paris tried to stop her thoughts before they got too wild. _Whoa there Gellar, calm down, just approach him, say hi and go from there. Just think of him as a guy at one of those many social parties you go to that you really want to approach for once._

She sighed and talked to herself as Lorelai called for all of the guests to gather around the front door in a circle. "But he isn't like any other guy I've met, especially at a loser society party. He's just...Jess," she whispered to herself. 

When Lorelai told everyone they were going to get a sleigh ride around the town square, Paris perked up with excitement, hoping that she was going to be paired with Jess, she even had her fingers crossed. However, she got out to the square last, and sadly, she was paired up with Kirk, who wasn't pleased with being partnered up with her either. She sulked beneath the blanket throughout the ride as Kirk whined about all Stars Hollow to her, hoping that a girl from out of town would sympathize with him that he was being hit on by a 55-year-old dance instructor. Paris was really wanting to just get out of town though, for she was not about to attain her goal of the night, and that was just to talk to Jess. She would do anything just to be near to him, hell, she'd risk breaking her knee to jump out of the sleigh if Jess just happened to come by. 

Jess was feeling the same way about Paris that evening. When he walked into the inn and saw Paris, he swore it was all a dream. He just stood and stared at her after she had turned away to talk to Rory for a bit. 

_God, she's beautiful, I hope she hasn't gotten a boyfriend since that night I saw her_, he thought as he took in the girl wearing a maroon turtleneck sweater, with a pair of corduroy pants that accentuated the curves of her lower body quite nicely. _Besides, who would not want her, Paris is a beautiful girl. She's smart and driven, passionate about any cause she takes up, and she doesn't take any crap from anyone. And to think also that Paris is really hot to boot._

_Hot?!_ Jess cursed himself for even thinking that way. _You just can't say that a girl like Paris is hot. Paris is...well Jess, you can't put her into a category, she's a person all her own. She's just...Paris_ . 

He really didn't have anything to do at the dinner either, so he stayed by his uncle's side throughout the night, trying to avoid conversation with anyone, and staying quiet. Dean kept looking at him with a wary eye from across the room, afraid that he was going to try to instigate another fight with him because Dean thought that he was trying to take Rory away from him. Dean couldn't be any farther from the truth though, as Jess kept looking towards Paris as she faced away from him, while she was taking to people like Miss Patty or Lorelai. 

Jess hoped to be able to share a sleigh ride with Paris, but when he saw her getting onto a sleigh with Kirk just as he got over there, he was crestfallen. He was hoping to be able to talk to the girl he had pined for from afar and just missed his opportunity. Instead, he decided to use the time lost with Paris to tease Rory, and he jumped into her sleigh all of the sudden as it went by him. Rory was very unhappy at first that he jumped in, but made small talk as the sleigh went around the square. Jess would badger Rory on just so he could forget about his mother for a while, and to lessen the pain of missing sharing a romantic ride with the girl he was truly crazy about. 

As the two sleighs passed each other by after one circuit around, the two teenagers took quick unknowing glances towards each other. Paris locked eyes with the side of Jess' face as he took a look at Rory, but then stopped just as Jess was about to turn around her way. Then Jess quickly took a peek at Paris, trying to make it look like he was just looking at the gazebo in the center of the square rather than Paris, so Rory wouldn't be suspicious. He was able to hold his gaze uninterrupted until Paris' sleigh fully passed by him. He sighed, and was startled when Rory tapped him on the shoulder. 

"Jess, what are you thinking about?" she asked with concern and a little bit of annoyance, seeing as their conversation was broken up by his staring. 

He jumped in his seat, afraid that Rory had discovered his secret crush. "Nothing really," he said, stumbling over the words. "Just noticing how much the gazebo lights up the middle of town." 

Rory rolled her eyes at him. "O-kay, whatever Jess." The ride, which had been full of conversation about her and Dean, and about Jess' home life seconds before, fell into a silence that would not be broken for the rest of it. 

As Paris and Jess took their seats at the table for the dinner, diagonal from each other, they were both thinking individually about how they would introduce themselves to each other. Any plans for introductions went by the wayside the moment their eyes made contact with each other. Paris shyly smiled at Jess, becoming the nervous wreck she had always been around boys, while Jess tried to turn on the Brooklyn charm, but failed miserably. 

"Hey, you must be Paris," he said confidently, hoping that a conversation would be started between them. 

Paris stared down at her plate and stumbled over words, trying to hide her blushing. "Um..hi Jess, Paris Gellar. How are you tonight?" 

"I'm staying out of trouble, so I'm really not having fun tonight," he said, seriously and honest. "Still have your head buried in the books Smartie?" 

Her face turned white, thinking that she had been insulted. "And just what is that supposed to mean, that I have nothing better to do than read?" Paris' voice became firm. "I do have a life outside of Chilton you know, I have good friends, and I'm at the top of my class! I can also get a plane ticket out of Connecticut and take a vacation wherever I want, when I want because of the wealth I was born into!" 

_Damn it, I just ruined my chances with Jess in a matter of seconds, damned pride_, Paris thought as she stopped speaking. She looked at Jess' face for any sign that he might have been turned off by her sudden outburst. Her feistiness only flared up Jess' want for her though. 

"Then why are you here rather than Australia, you didn't have to come just because Rory asked you know." 

"You just can't turn down an invitation, she invited, I accepted the invite. It happens all the time in social circles, most of my evenings after homework are spent at parties like this." She looked around the room, and then returned her attention to Jess. "It would have been rude for me to turn it down with no good reason. And I don't have a good reason, so I accepted the invitation." 

"What reason would you have told them if you didn't feel like going? I know you and Rory aren't the best of friends, but you accepted anyway, so there has to be some reason you didn't want to go you could've told Rory." 

"I don't really want to talk about it," she said, relaxing in the chair and trying to avoid the question. 

"Why not Paris?" he asked, concerned. "It's not like I have anyone I can spill your secret to, I know as much as you about this town right now." 

Jess smiled at her. "Come on Smartie, big city guy to big city girl, you can tell me, I won't tell anyone else." 

Paris hesitated for a moment, looking in Jess' eyes to see if he was sincere about keeping his word. She wanted to trust him, but his past behavior made her leery about telling him things, along with her pining for him from afar. She was afraid if she were to tell him, they became friends, but then had a horrible breakup of a future friendship, he might tell everyone that she was afraid to be alone during the holidays, making her look like a sad pathetic girl in the eyes of everyone else. 

_I have to do this, I have to tell him_, Paris thought as she decided to go ahead and confide in Jess. 

"Well Jess, I--" 

She was cut off by Lorelai, who was announcing the start of the dinner. Everyone else invited started to take their seats, and the intimacy of the conversation Paris and Jess were having was lost as everyone started talking about other things to each other around the table. From across the table, Jess looked at Paris, who clearly wanted to confide in him, but couldn't because of the other people and the nature of the conversation. 

Throughout the dinner, the two continue taking peeks across the table at each other, trying to make sure that Luke didn't notice their exchanges. Both of them felt like aliens from another planet sitting at the table, unable to decode the conversations and eccentricities of the citizens of Stars Hollow. They were outsiders looking into another world, one they brushed up against, but just couldn't fully get into for quite a while until they understood what it was all about.

They both quietly ate their dinners, only talking when someone asked them a question. Unnoticed glances continued to be exchanged by Paris and Jess whenever the other was distracted, and a dance around their feelings for each other continued unfettered throughout, everyone else oblivious to the tension Paris and Jess were causing between each other. Both of them wanted to be in love, but each were afraid to make the first move, scared that their feelings wouldn't be returned. 

Finally, the dinner ended, and dessert was started. Jess picked at his cream pie, while Paris asked the server for a bowl of Jell-O due to her lactose intolerance. They spent fifteen minutes each working on their respective desserts, and as Paris finished up, Lorelai came up to her place at the table to ask if she enjoyed the dinner. 

As Paris went on about the dinner's anachronisms, Jess' attention was once again on her, although he didn't show it. He kept on eating his pie as she complained about the modern watches on the servers. Jess didn't want anyone to notice what the girl from Hartford was doing to him at that moment, that Paris was unnerving him. Her insistence about stating the anachronisms of the dinner, not to mention her natural beauty, was causing Jess to go insane. 

_Damn it, I want to tell her how I feel_, he thought. _I think I've fallen even more head over heels for her than I did before._

His attention fully went towards Paris' direction the moment Lorelai remarked about flogging the staff. After Lorelai went away, Paris sulked in her chair, she was trying to make a serious point with the anachronisms, and it was laughed off. _What's wrong with these people, it's like they don't care about my opinions_, she thought as she felt less and less welcome at the dinner. Paris didn't want to stay in Stars Hollow anymore; she wanted to be trying to take Park Place and Boardwalk before Francisca could claim them and plant three hotels, making her poor in Monopoly money. 

She thought seriously about slipping out of the inn quietly so that no one would notice, but then she looked across the table and saw one person smile at her, happy that she had spoken her mind. 

"Those were some great points you made Paris, no wonder Rory envies your intelligence," Jess said to her nervously. He was trying to be cautious about not trying to have another wise-ass remark that Paris would take offense to. 

She nervously smiled back at Jess, while trying to shake butterflies out of her stomach that sprung up as Jess complemented her. "Thank you Jess, I'm glad someone appreciates my analysis," she said, kindly. 

They locked eyes with each other, and the dark blonde girl and dark haired boy both felt their heartbeats speed up as they wanted to admit their crushes on each other right then and there. However, Luke was still sitting next to Jess, and Jess wanted to confide privately to the object of his affection his true feelings. And he knew the perfect place to do it, where no one could disturb them and they could have a nice deep conversation as they walked. 

"Hey Paris, did you want to take a walk with me and...you know, talk for a while? You seem like a girl I'd love to get to know." 

Paris pondered Jess' query for a few moments, and answered. 

"Alright, why not Jess? It's not like I really have to be here talking to the people here anyway. I'll go get my jacket then," she said as she rose out of her chair and headed towards the cloakroom. 

Jess smiled as Paris accepted the impromptu invitation. He quick told Luke where he was going, and his uncle waved him off, he trusted Jess talking with Paris because they were both from the city, and he thought that they would feel a connection with each other. 

Jess met Paris in the lobby, and after he put on his jean jacket, they walked out of the front door of the inn, not being followed by anyone from the town, because the citizens were too busy mingling with each other in the lobby. 

As Paris slipped on her mittens, she looked at Jess and smiled slightly, she was loving the time she was going to spend alone with her crush. She had to get something off of her chest though. 

"Jess, I'm sorry I blew up at you before at the table. I didn't know how else to react, no one usually talks to me in that smart-ass kind of way, and when they do, watch out." 

"Don't worry about it Smartie, you reacted right, I should've introduced myself more kindly than I did." 

"It's alright Jess, from what I heard about you from Rory, I expected you to make a first impression on me the way you did. I was just caught off guard, that's all." Paris sighed, letting a cool breath cloud up in her face. 

"I catch everyone off guard Paris, you're not the first." He put his hands in the jacket pockets as they walked down the road from the inn back towards the town square. 

"Yeah, I was eavesdropping on Taylor talking about something you did with chalk in front of his store a few weeks ago. Care to tell me what that was all about Mr. Mariano?" 

Jess laughed. "I was trying to shake up the town a little, that's all. I can't believe that guy couldn't take a joke, when was the last murder around here, 1972? I think it's more like everyone wants to see Taylor six feet under, not the other way around." 

"You wouldn't kill him of course, right Jess?" 

"What would be fun about that Paris? Torturing him while I'm in Stars Hollow and probably for the rest of his life is alot more fun than seeing him offed right away." He genuinely smiled at her, he was enjoying the conversation. 

"So you're a sadist then Jess," Paris asked as she took a knit cap out of her jacket and put it on over her head. "I think I kind of am too, what with the way I try to assert myself around Rory. I'll be her friend someday for sure, but right now I'm enjoying being the big boss of her at the _ Franklin_. Don't tell her this, but I'm going to assign her a story about the new parquet they're installing in the gymnasium. She did such a great job with the parking lot story at the beginning of the year, that I'm sure she'll do a story about wood flooring justice." 

Jess looked at Paris with a faked stare of worry. "Don't you think you're overworking the girl Miss Gellar? I think she wants to go to Harvard, not become a flooring expert at the Georgia Carpet/Color Tile Outlet." 

"Jess, real funny!" she said, nudging him on his side. They then both shared a hearty laugh, loving that their senses of humor seemed to match up so perfectly. 

After finishing up talking about Rory, they headed over to a food cart on the edge of the town square, where Paris bought two cups of hot chocolate, one for her and one for Jess. She relaxed as she took the warm foam cup from the vendor, feeling her formerly cold hands become warm. 

"Thanks for the hot chocolate Paris, it's really good, and it's refreshing to see the girl pay for the food once," Jess said as he sipped the cup carefully. 

"No problem Jess, $3.00 is a drop in the pan for me, so I don't mind paying for it." 

"You want to go sit in the gazebo over there and continue to talk to me?" Jess said, pointing out the structure in the middle of the square. 

"Sure Jess, let's go." 

As they walked slowly towards the gazebo, they were starting to feel more at ease with each other, even with their different social classes. Jess talked about reading "David Copperfield", and Paris strongly debated with him important points Dickens made when he wrote it, passionately stating her feelings about the book. They had a very intelligent conversation about the book, and Paris was very surprised at how smart Jess was about literature. It was one of the most intelligent book talks she had with someone in a long time. 

They finally arrived at the gazebo, gazing at it in awe. 

"According to legend, this is the place to fall in love in Stars Hollow," Jess stated non-chalantly, trying to set his feelings for Paris aside. 

Love. There was the word that Paris wanted to feel the definition of once, she was jealous of those who had experienced it. She had really wanted to feel that with Tristan, but he was gone now, spending the holidays in a dark, cold military school dormitory in North Carolina. Then again, she was starting to really feel a connection with Jess... 

_I'm completely in love with Jess_, she thought, as she sat down silently in a corner of the octagonal structure. _He thinks I'm smart, and he thought my point about the anachronisms was well thought out. And I was able to hold a conversation about "David Copperfield" without having to talk down to him, he agrees with me that the book is definitely better than the movies. Jess told me he never even saw the movies as a matter of fact, because he loves to imagine the book his way, not a director's vision. He's so handsome, that jaw, and those deep dark eyes, they're very powerful, yet reassuring. And his hair, I love it._.. 

Jess waved a hand in front of Paris. "Are you still there Smartie?" 

Paris shook herself out of the reverie of her thoughts."Um...yeah, still here, just thinking." 

"I'm not surprised Paris, you're always thinking." He sat down next to the girl and put his hot chocolate cup by his side on the bench that wound completely around the shelter. 

Suddenly, Paris thought back to when they were talking at the table an hour before, when he had asked her what was the reason she accepted the invitation. She took off her mittens, letting the cold winter breeze cool her hands off, and turned to face him. 

"You know what I'm thinking about right now Jess?" she asked directly. 

"I don't know Smartie, you tell me." 

"I'm thinking about why my parents didn't want me to come with either of them on their winter holidays, even though I want to get out of Hartford until school starts up again. My father I can understand, he really needs some time alone somewhere. He's been working his ass off since September 11th, with the anthrax scares in the mail, because the pharmaceutical company he runs makes Cipro for the government. He sent me a few gifts for Hanukah, including a new notebook computer so I can do my assignments away from home at the library. He also sent me a beautiful Hanukah card, saying that he misses waking up to the sight of me everyday, him divorcing my mother has been really tough on our relationship, we were so close until he had to leave last year, we just see each other so little since he moved to North Jersey to be closer to the company." 

Paris sighed as she continued on. "My mother however, is another story. She doesn't even think of me as a daughter anymore, only as a way of keeping herself connected to my father's side of the family. She's telling me that even though I get the top grade everytime, it's just not good enough for her. She wants me to stick out, be number one in everything, make sure that the other students are not near me in the gradebook. My mother also thinks that spending all your freetime volunteering for community service endears you to the board of admissions at Harvard alot. Every time I come up to her and say I just want to spend some time talking to her alone though, she says that she's way too busy, and tells me to get back to doing my homework, or gets out the Chilton directory and looks for a dumb social engagement for me to go to so that I'm out of her hair." 

She felt Jess' hand on her back. "Do you want a cigarette to calm your nerves?" he said, taking a pack and a matchbook out of his jacket. 

She held up her hand, as if to say no. "I've seen the pictures of cancerous lungs Jess, that cigarette's not going to work." 

He laughed, put the cigarettes away and took a 5-pack of spearmint gum out of his jeans. "Gum then?" 

Paris obliged, and took a couple of sticks from Jess. She opened the foil, took out the gum from each wrapper, and put it in her mouth. She finished working the sticks into a soft wad in her mouth, and started talking again. 

"Right now, I'll just be happy to spend a night with her talking, ever since she the divorce went through, she's been playing jet-setter, taking off with her loves to everywhere but Antarctica, hoping to make a connection with someone, anyone. At least my father was honest, he was working himself too hard and couldn't keep being with my mother anymore. My mother is going on like it's all his fault, she had the entire house redecorated when he moved out. She'll never talk to me mother-to-daughter anymore, claiming that I'm doing just fine, when it's pretty damn clear I'm just yearning for her attention for just a little bit." 

Paris' voice started wavering then, and Jess noticed something forming in her eye; a tear. It was ready to fall any moment, and he knew that Paris was about to break down if he didn't do anything to reassure her. The story of her holiday loneliness had gotten to Jess, and he tried choking back tears of his own. Paris' confession had opened up fresh wounds that had been caused when his mother didn't invite him back for Christmas in Brooklyn. 

Jess did the only thing he could do, he opened his arms up, and drew the girl into them. Paris easily accepted the invitation, and as her tears fell onto Jess' shoulder, he started telling the story of how he ended up in Stars Hollow, and the regret he was feeling for not being more kind to his mother. Paris learned that despite her financial standing, she and Jess had much more in common than books. They both shared horrible lives at home, and both were ignored by the others at their schools unless they went to extremes, Paris with her heavy Chilton workload, and Jess' troublemaking ways back when he was in Brooklyn at Murrow High. 

As they hugged, they both took in the essences of each other. Paris could sense Jess' strong cologne, while Jess breathed in the scent of Paris' long mane of hair, taking in the wildflower scent of her shampoo. He could also detect a hint of Vanilla Fields on her neck, which had been the favorite perfume of his ex-girlfriend back in New York, and vanilla became his favorite smell soon thereafter. 

Eventually the hug broke apart, and they composed themselves enough to finish up their hot chocolates, and talk to each other about a few more topics. 

Paris smiled at Jess, happy that she had been able to confide in him. 

"Thank you Jess, it really felt nice talking to someone outside of my family and friends about why I'm so screwed up right now, you're a great listener." 

"You aren't screwed up Paris," Jess said, "If we were all normal, we'd all be pretty boring. You should know that it was great finding someone here who understands where I'm coming from, and that I'm pleased that you didn't judge me the minute I met you." 

Just then, Paris let something slip. "When you were in that alley in November when I was here, I knew I could trust you." 

Jess' eyes widened. "November, when were you here?" 

_Shit, he caught me!_ Paris thought, realizing that she really hadn't meant to tell Jess that. She decided to come out and be honest with her new friend. 

"During the rehearsals we had at the dance studio for a Shakespeare project we had, I went out for a walk to clear up my mind. As I walked, I saw you smoking in the alley near the market. I stopped stared at you for a couple minutes and wondered what you were thinking. Taylor shooed me away from the market before I could summon up the courage to approach you Jess, so I had to move on." She looked down at her feet, wondering if Jess was getting ready to walk away. 

Instead, she felt Jess' hand lift up her face so she made eye contact with him. 

"Looks like I'm not the only one who did some spying on the other before tonight." 

"You mean--" 

"I saw you on the first night too as you went into the dance studio Paris, you were reaming Miss Patty a new one from what I saw. That's when I thought I would make a connection with you Paris, but you were already up to your knees in tension and annoyance, so I decided to approach you another time." 

Paris blushed crimson, learning that her feelings for Jess now had a greater chance for reciprocation. "You want to know something Jess?" 

"Sure Smartie, what?" 

* "Jess bom, eu penso que eu desenvolvi um agradável pouco esmagamento em você. De fato, você poderia dizer que eu tenho a sorte uniforme do caído no amor com você," she told him in clear Portuguese, smiling and trying to impress him with her second language skills. She saw a smile on Jess' face as he translated the foreign words. 

"A crush, and maybe love Paris? I'm not going to lie to you, I think we may have hit the same wavelength, because I've taken a liking to you myself." 

Paris laughed. "I didn't know the toughest boy in Brooklyn had a love of the Portuguese language." 

"We have a block back home which is heavily Brazillian-American, and some of those guys were my friends, so I took 3 years of Portuguese when I was in school, it was my best class besides literature and language arts as a matter of fact. You make alot of friends if you know two languages, kid." 

"I have a nanny named Francisca at home who has been with me since I was born, she came from Lisbon twenty years ago. She's basically my best friend in reality, we know each other's secrets." 

"Does she know you've fallen in love with a bad boy yet?" Jess told Paris with a grin. 

"I haven't told her that, but I'm sure I will soon." 

"Well, I don't know--" 

Jess trailed off as his attention was distracted by a sprig of mistletoe hanging from the rafters of the gazebo. Jess pointed it out to Paris, and they both looked up at it, unsure of what to do. Paris started feeling uncomfortable, and she looked into Jess' eyes for any sign of being unsure of whether to kiss under the mistletoe or not. 

"Isn't that convenient," Jess said, getting up and pacing around the gazebo. "Only Stars Hollow would make kissing in a gazebo a town edict, even if mistletoe is required to carry it out." 

Paris rose from the bench and wondered what to do, but her mind started relaying what was to happen if she ever stood under the mistletoe. "The funny thing is, in some cultures mistletoe over your head is a sign that you're meant to be, and that you should marry the recipient of your kiss." 

"Can you imagine me and you married Paris?" Jess said, pointing to himself and then to her. 

Without warning, an image flashed in Paris' mind of her and Jess in their late twenties, caring for three children, whom she had conveniently named Marin, Chelsea, and Brooke Lynn because of their places of conception. She also imagined herself happily married to Jess, her attaining the dream of working as a cancer researcher at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, while Jess was a stay at home father, showering love on the results of a lasting and passionate love that him and the mother of the girls had shared since a simple kiss under the mistletoe of a gazebo thirteen years earlier. 

The tingly and warm feeling that had been long reserved for only Tristan, was now running through Paris' veins, but now it was fully applying to Jess Mariano. Paris was ready to fall apart, and wanted to kiss him for more reasons than just to satisfy a long holiday tradition. However, being the expert of using a facade to cover her true emotions, to Jess, it looked to him like Paris just wanted a routine kiss. 

"Yeah, you and me married Jess, like that'll ever happen," she laughed bitterly. 

They looked at each other for another minute, and at the same time, they decided to go for it. 

They started a countdown, and put each other's hands together. Paris took off her cap beforehand, so that Jess would be able to kiss her without any problems. Paris and Jess counted in unison. 

"1...2...3..." 

At three, the two moved in for the simple peck on each other's lips, month long dreams of kissing one another about to come true. The kiss was simple and platonic, both unaware that their insides were doing backflips as they kissed. They looked up at the mistletoe as the simple kiss continued, then all too soon, Paris and Jess pulled away. 

As they separated though, Jess saw the same thing in his mind that Paris had a few moments ago, and everything was the same, from the children, to him staying at home with them while Paris worked, and they were happily married. He also felt coursing in his veins the same feelings that Paris had. He knew what he had to do. 

Paris was suddenly swept back up into Jess' arms, and their lips touched again, but this time, the kiss was by no means platonic. As Jess kissed Paris like she had never been before by even Tristan, his mouth opened up, and Paris could feel his tongue run across her teeth, demanding entrance. She immediately got what Jess was getting at, and opened her mouth fully, letting the boy's tongue explore inside her long unkissed mouth. A groan of pleasure was heard on Paris' part as his tongue ran along the sensitive ridge of the palate on the roof of her mouth, and Paris quickly reciprocated the kiss in Jess' mouth with equal passion. 

The kiss continued unabated for a couple minutes, and both of them ran their fingers through each other's hair, and what had been concealed in their hearts over the last month came out of hiding during the long second kiss, their dreams about each other were coming true in that simple expression of love. Jess ran his tongue against the ridge of Paris' full pink lips, and once again the girl sighed happily. 

Finally, Jess reluctantly ended the kiss, and let Paris separate from him. The shorter girl looked up at her dream guy, and her deep and doey mocha brown eyes stared at him in awe. A big smile formed across her face, and the shorter girl looked at him like no man she had known before in her entire life. 

"I'm guessing the mistletoe didn't inspire that last kiss, did it?" she said softly. 

Jess looked down towards her, and stared into Paris' eyes, before once again examining the lips that he had just kissed. 

"That was all me Smartie, no help from the plant hanging above us." He pointed up at the mistletoe sprig. 

"You have made this a very Happy Hanukah for me, Jess Mariano." 

"And you Paris Gellar, have given me a Christmas present I won't be forgetting anytime soon." 

Paris hesitated for a minute before asking, "Did you want to try that...again?" 

Jess hugged her. "It would be an anachronism not to show you how much I've yearned for your love Paris." 

And with that, they kissed again, delighted that their holiday wishes were coming true in that gazebo.   
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Meanwhile across the town square, Rory saw everything that happened from her vantage point, and she smiled upon seeing Paris and Jess fall in love. 

Lorelai approached her, handed her daughter a foam cup of coffee, and took in the sight of the young lovers. 

"It didn't take long for Jess to come into town and find love, did it?" Lorelai observed. 

"I know, I thought those two were going to hate each other, look at them though, you can tell this is going to last." 

"How do you know that Rory?" 

A devilish grin on Rory's face made itself known, the same look she had when she set up Paris and Tristan on a date months ago. 

Lorelai suddenly became shocked at what her daughter had planned. "Rory, you didn't!! You set those two up--" 

"Mistletoe is a magic plant, and even more magical when it comes to falling in love." 

"You're becoming a regular yenta Rory, setting up Paris with all of these men!" Lorelai said, laughing. "When are you going to tell her you planted that mistletoe in the gazebo?" 

"On her wedding day with Jess at the reception, I'll be the maid of honor. They can't undo the mistletoe spell after they tie the knot." 

"You're evil Rory!" 

"I get it from my mother." 

"So who are you going to get to take the blame for now?" 

"I'll flip a coin between Kirk and Taylor when we get back to the inn, everyone will know it's one of those guys," Rory said seriously. 

"Blame by coin-flip, I love it!" Lorelai and Rory took one last look at the couple, smiled, and headed back towards the inn.   
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That night, Paris came home to Gellar Manor with the biggest smile she ever had in her life. She came into the house in a blur, and quickly ran for Francisca's servant quarters. 

** "Francisca, você nunca acreditá-lo-á, mas quando eu estava nas Stars Hollow, eu encontrei-me com este guy grande, mim não posso esperar para dizê-lo sobre ele..." she yelled happily in Portugese. It was clearly evident that the evening of the Bracebridge Dinner was the best night in Paris Evelyn Gellar's young life.   
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**_THE END._**   
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English translations:   
*"Well Jess, I think I've developed a nice little crush on you. As a matter of fact, you could say I've even sort of fallen in love with you."   
**"Francisca, you'll never believe it, but when I was in Stars Hollow, I met this great guy, I can't wait to tell you about him..." 


End file.
